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The study discussed in the article below proves that we have been right all along. The saliant points made in the article:

1. Linking the receipt of child care subsidies to the child support "appears to injure the security and stability of the family".

2. "Families resist the court-ordered support system for complex reasons having to do with their assessment of family well-being, and the child's relationship with the father....The result is that these working moms have to choose between maintaining relations with the father or obtaining court-ordered child support."

3. "A large number of families already have voluntary agreements that keep fathers financially responsible and emotionally involved in their children's lives. Of the 92 providers surveyed, 62% said parents had voluntary agreements. Thus, many fathers are providing support for their children outside of the formal legal system."

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Go to our ANCPR LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER at http://ancpr.org/lac/new_page_2.htm

Below is the full text of the article:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000810/pa_dvccc_c.html

Thursday August 10, 2:38 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Delaware Valley Child Care Council, Child Care Matters

`Keep Working Families Working'

Release Of New Child Care Matters Study Reports Child Support Regulations Negatively Impacting Working Families

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new study by Child Care Matters, the Department of Public Welfare's 1999 ``Child Support Cooperation Requirement'' is preventing income eligible families from applying for child-care subsidy, hurting enrollments in regulated early education programs, and undermining a parent's ability to access safe and quality child care.

Since the requirement went into effect in February 1999, 526 children, representing about 28% of Child Care Information Services enrollments in program surveyed, have dropped out of regional early education centers. The ``Cooperation Requirement'' forces single-parent families to file for court-ordered child support or risk losing their child-care subsidy.

``Linking child support to child care subsidy has created unintended negative consequences. The policy has hurt enrollments in regulated child- care programs and undermined parents' ability to access safe care. The policy appears to injure the security and stability of the family ...the opposite of its purpose,'' said Sharon Ward, Child Care Matters public policy director. Child Care Matters is a quality child-care initiative representing southeastern Pennsylvania. The survey is part of a report on Child Care Works, Pennsylvania's program to assist working families with child-care costs, released August 10th.

Child Care Matters surveyed 92 regional child-care program directors who accept children receiving state subsidies through the Child Care Information Service (CCIS):

-- In 2/3 of the programs, providers report that parents left the child-care subsidy program rather than comply with the requirement. -- 50% of programs had a decline in enrollment of subsidized children, while only 22% of programs had declines in overall enrollments.

One of the unforeseen effects of the ``Cooperation Requirement'' is the decreasing enrollment in early education centers throughout the region. Such a decrease signals that for many working families receiving the subsidy the requirement is limiting their choice of child care providers.

Thomasine Washington, director of Archway Learning Center in Germantown, saw her program decrease from 33 subsidized children in September 1999 to 14 in March 2000. Of the 14 children who left the program, 11 withdrew because of the ``Cooperation Requirement.''

``When the state increased the co-payments, they saw that it had an effect on families and they reduced them to more affordable levels,'' said Ms. Washington. ``This child support requirement is having the same effect on families as the increased co-payments, and should be removed. Child care subsidy is about helping hard-working parents keep their jobs, and giving children a good beginning, not about collecting child support.''

Many parents have difficulty understanding and complying with requirements. Of the programs surveyed, 82 percent of providers reported that parents cited: hardship, including lost work time attending family court; a complex legal system; lack of information about the requirements; and lack of support for negotiating the difficult legal process.

Families resist the court-ordered support system for complex reasons having to do with their assessment of family well-being, and the child's relationship with the father. And some women fear emotional or physical reprisals from an ex-spouse. The result is that these working moms have to choose between maintaining relations with the father or obtaining court-ordered child support.

A large number of families already have voluntary agreements that keep fathers financially responsible and emotionally involved in their children's lives. Of the 92 providers surveyed, 62% said parents had voluntary agreements. Thus, many fathers are providing support for their children outside of the formal legal system.

Children and families are at greater risk as a result of this requirement:

-- 34% of providers report families are leaving their programs and using neighbors for informal care. -- 10% of provider report that children are likely to be left home alone or with older siblings.

The result is that families are left economically worse off because of the requirement, and children are leaving licensed quality early education programs -- undermining school readiness and safety.

After losing her subsidy, Trisha Logan, a single mother, was forced to withdraw her daughter from Francyne Wharton, a family day care provider in Delaware Country. Since the ``Cooperation Requirement,'' Ms. Wharton has reduced her fees to accommodate working families who have lost their subsidy, enabling Logan to re-enroll her daughter, but for much reduced hours. ``We were doing the right thing,'' Ms. Logan said, ``so why are we being punished?''

``In effect the state told parents they had 60 days to comply with a requirement that could turn their worlds upside down and many of them simply panicked,'' Ward said. ``We believe a more sensitive approach that helps parents through the child-support process voluntarily, coupled with full acceptance of parent's privately-negotiated agreements, would achieve results we all want -- greater financial and emotional contributions from absent parents without limiting parent's child care choices.''

In the report Child Care Matters recommends that the Commonwealth:

-- De-link child-support enforcement from assistance with early education programs. -- Suspend the implementation of the requirement. -- Establish a Task Force to recommend alternative strategies for supporting and encouraging families to use the formal child-support system. -- Until the elimination of the child-support requirement: accept voluntary child-support agreements; adopt the domestic violence good cause procedure; and implement a waiver for personal court appearance in Philadelphia and other large-population counties.

SOURCE: Delaware Valley Child Care Council, Child Care Matters